I was without heating fuel for several days and it had gotten so cold that I took to my bed, getting under the covers with a heating pad, a comforter and two throws up to my chin, plus cats resting on my legs.
The good news was that fuel was being delivered soon. To the tune of $300. I’m not sure how anyone deals with the cost of heating their home without robbing Peter to pay Paul.
How in the world do the homeless survive this weather? California doesn’t get near as cold as New York or Michigan or any of the snow states, but cold is cold.
It broke my heart to see abandoned kittens out in the cold so I opened my house and pocketbook to them. I’m hoping Lake County is doing the same. For animals and for humans.
Curious, I spent a good deal of time trying to locate a warming center, with poor results. Perhaps the old juvenile hall in Lakeport?
Lake County Behavioral Health said they hadn’t heard of any warming centers opening up.
So, if someone is out in the cold, it seems that they’re out of luck. My oldest cat won’t even go outside. The temperature in my house, without heating fuel, went down to 50F. No wonder I spent the bulk of my day in bed, with cats curled up against me.
People have said the temperatures around the lake have created dead batteries, ice on windshields and icy roads. My friend Mabel, who lives in Willets, said the highway near her house was sanded. Another friend, who was damn cold, went to Walmart to buy a space heater.
A year or so ago I ran out of heating fuel so I used a space heater in my bedroom and one in the living room. The electric bill for that month was $400. I haven’t used a space heater since. I bundle instead.
The first year that I lived in Lake County, I had just moved from Sri Lanka, which is only 400 miles north of the Equator. Definitely a hot country, except for in the mountainous tea region. Having lived there for 14 years, my body had acclimated to the warm temperatures. My blood was thinned. Enough so that Lake County winter weather about did me in. In fact, every holiday or birthday my daughter would send me something warm; flannel pajamas, a hooded fleece-lined poncho, several throws. A friend even sent me a winter coat and a heated mattress pad. I recently bought a large heating pad and won’t crawl into bed unless it’s done its job. Kind of like in the old days where the bed warmers were warming pans filled with hot charcoal or ashes, attached to a long handle and pushed around the bed to get it warm and dry.
I recently saw one of those warming pans in an episode of Outlander (Netflix) when I had no heating fuel. I was so envious of their giant fireplaces and warming pans. And if any of you, my readers, have seen Outlander, I was also a bit envious of Claire (leading lady) and her on-screen relationship with her dreamy Scottish husband, Jamie.
What was a girl to do?…I ordered a rush on the heating fuel. And binge-watched Outlander! That heated me up!
Lucy Llewellyn Byard is currently a columnist for the Record-Bee. To contact her, email lucywgtd@gmail.com
